LETTERS: SMOKING? TRY HERBAL CIGARETTES

To the editor:

With the war on tobacco and all, you would think people would look at the obvious ways to quit smoking. Instead they want to pump you up with all of those fancy drugs. You have drugs to block your neuroreceptors and gum that gives you the addictive nicotine and the hand-to-mouth habit that you want to get away from. And you can even get nicotine in a three-step dosage. Has it ever occurred to anyone to take the nicotine out of cigarettes?

Well, it did to me and also to some company in California. They are herbal cigarettes made of wild lettuce, catnip and other herbs. Most importantly they have no tobacco (or nicotine). If you're ready to quit smoking and haven't the willpower, I have found the easiest way to do it. Once you get past the nicotine addiction, all you have is the hand-to-mouth thing. So if this summer you see someone chewing on her lip, it's probably me.

This new miracle way toward not smoking is not cheap though. At about $4.50 a pack you will quit either for the lack of nicotine or go broke. Look at the bright side: If after several weeks you only smoke one pack a week, you will be saving your lungs, mind, and pocketbook a bundle. Now that the secret is out, I have to prepare for my new herb garden. Does anyone know where to get wild lettuce?

CAROL POOLE

Jackson